AI & The EA role

We recently spoke at an EA Conference in Sydney on a panel where we discussed AI, technology and the future of the EA role.

There’s a lot of talk & information about this topic and depending on who you speak to or where your source is from, there’s a big chance you’ll get a response or statement from a place of fear that instills worry about ‘being replaced by robots’.

What we shared at the conference was our opinions and thoughts on the subject, which could be summed up in one line as “EA’s need to embrace technology instead of resisting it - if an app or new technology can make your job & life easier, then we say EMBRACE it!”

We know that fear of the unknown can cause worry, which means people lean towards being afraid that technology will replace them, but when it comes down to it, we don’t believe AI will replace the EA role – we believe it will continue to change the role as it frees up our time from the mundane tasks so we can take on larger tasks and add more value to our bosses and companies in a different capacity.

We encourage you to do your research about upcoming tech – read articles, watch TedTalks and YouTube videos, listen to podcasts – stay ahead of tech that’s coming to your industry or country and be an advocate by introducing apps/systems to your role or business that you think are useful to you and your Executive. This keeps you ahead of the game and embracing it as an addition to your role in an effort to be more efficient and effective and free up your time to add value in other areas

Here’s the other thing - AI technology doesn’t have emotion, intuition or personality - it’s task and process driven – so it cannot replace a living person that has empathy, compassion and the ability to read body language, energy in the room and understand the idiosyncrasies of our Executives – which are all important factors when it comes to EA’s who are dealing with and managing people all day every day.

Also one of the main limitations of AI that experts point out is that AI systems are built & trained to do clearly defined tasks, e.g. a system that detects fraud cannot drive a car, give you legal advice, book your travel or schedule your meetings. So these systems are very specialized and focused on a single task – they are nowhere near being able to do all the aspects of our role as EA’s, and are also nowhere near to behaving or thinking like humans.

Embrace what technology can do to streamline processes and tasks to free up your time to add more value in other areas that aren’t as time consuming and process driven. Be flexible & adaptable when new technology is implemented and show that you are willing to grow with the company and adapt your role, and make sure you continue to grow, develop and up-skill. Our roles will become less task driven, and more quality driven by using our time, skills & knowledge to add value by bringing intuition, empathy, strategic thinking and people management to help our Executives and businesses make decisions and run a successful business.

Keep growing, developing & being a kick-ass EA!

Nis & Sarah